Continuous centrifugal drier



March 7, 1950 J. Q. BUQUO! ETAL 2,499,457

CONTINUOUS CENTRIFUGAL DRIER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 24, 1946 J hn/ Q- 3a aol. J n/es J2 jVo l, J11,

Earl c Sc/Iemai/dr e,

March 7, 1950 .1. Q- BUQUOI EYTAL 2,499,457

cou'rmuous CENTRIF'UGAL DRIER Filed Dec. 24, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 liar/regs "terio'r helix by cutting .:sumes considerable .a centrifugal drier Patented Mar. 7, 1950 2,499,457 CONTINUOUS CENTRI'FUGAL DRIER- J0hn'Q.-B11Q1l0i, Jules J. Noel, J12, andlEarl-J. I

vSchexnaildre, Plaguemine, La.

Application December 24, 19%, Serial No; 718,202

l. .Claim. 1

This invention relates to a continuous teed "and discharge centrifugal machine, of the rotating basket-type and which is provided with an in- 'which conveys the" dried material upward from the basket to'a discharging conveyor. The rotating basket :is perforated or otherwise constructed to convey :away or permit the discharge of liquid separated "by centrifugal action from the materialbeingsdried.

Prior methods for centrifugal i'drying were "performed by a batch-wise operation, that is, the basket was loaded, :dried by centrifugal sspinning, and discharged, this cycle .being continuously repeated in the drying vor .a given amount of slurry. tThe' unloading I101 discharging tor :the basket wa's idonezsmanually ibysa'plowzor scraper, "the dried :materializtromisthe basket and usually dropping'ithe; material "into. ameceiver or bin on aifio0r ileVellblOW that of .the :drying machine.

The old centrifugal machines are generally motor-driven from arr-overhead :position. This overhead motor supported :by airframe built around the machina'thus limiting ::and obstructing the area of operation. This design also generally. presents :a machine which [operates :on a suspended shaitif-rom the motor "which requires that thebasket o'ithe'ma'chine must at all times be loaded evenlyiin :order ftoiprevent oscillation caused by unbalanced leads, :all of which con- :time tin 'lo'ading as "well as discharging an evenfi-amount 'omnaterial, 'ifdried material "is to beileft inzthe basket :tnxaid: in drying a subsequent .batch.

The object 'of our ential idrive between -.a centrifugal basket and a helical means of-discharging idriedimaterial, and provide in conjunction with this device a con-- veyor for the purpose of conveying :the :dried material-to aqpredetermined location. i

It .is another object ofthe invention taprovide with the drive mechanism working from the bottom and so mounting and journaling the :machine as to -:compensate for oscillation or vibration scaused bytunbalanced or uneven loading of the machine.

Other objects 'and: advantages of the invention will be apparent .i-rom the.following detailed .description and claim taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, :where like gzparts rare .indicated by like reference characters and "wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section showing the centrifugal machine.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional top view taken through the'plane 2-2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is :a cross sectional top view taken through the planet-3 of Figure v1.

Figure 4 is a vertical section of the top bearin arrangement taken through plane 4- 4 of Fig- "ure '3.

Figure 5 is :a fragmentary werticalrsection of the conveyor mechanism.

Figure 6 is a side elevation oiinterior helical 'meohanism.

Figure?! is a vertical section .of the bottom sents ::a rotating basket which is provided with perforations :2 in

said perforations or distance from the at a :point approximately at :3. may be provided "mesh screen mounted in'any preferred conventional manner insteadof having the perforated the shell of the said basket, holes running to a short top of ithebasket terminating The basket '5 with several layers of difierent shell described .above. The basket 1 :rotates ion -:a centrally placed downwardly extending :rota'ting shaft 4, which .is journa-led by radial .and

thrust bearings, 'adjustable day look nuts, .sai'd bearings being fitted or contained *in a suitable 'housing -24 which is r-permanently' located .or tengaged on a rigid foundation 5. .Said basket I is mounted ro-tatably on the shaft 4 by means of invention ;is tojprovide :a "bearlngs'fi v:and :is rotated bymeans of an elec- "continuous centrifugal drying machine wheretric motor I which engages the basket bearing Ehousing ii by'ime'ans of.a sprocket chain 9 which "the l beams allows the basketto rotate independently of an interior basket :hel-ix hereinafter described. The

basket top is provided with a'race 1B which r0- tates-ion top bearings ii-l which are supported by :a top support plate .112 and whiohis the top of a general machine housing and is "supported by 53. .;Around the-top of the basket :shell or wall are provided discharge ports t4 through which :dried material is discharged vfrom the interior. rotating helix.

bolted to the shaft flange I 9. From said piece l8, which is of a size only large enough to accommodate the shaft connecting flange,- are provided radial spokes 26 which are so formed as to be convex as to the direction of rotation and designed in this manner so as to relieve the stress on the said spokes due to rotation, and extend to and are connected with the downward extending rods or bars IT.

The main shaft 4 extends downward through the basket bottom bearings 6 and through the supporting bearings 28, the housing of which is indicated at 24. On the main shaft 'i between the bottom bearings 28 and the basket bearings 6, a sprocket and chain driving mechanism is provided in order to rotate said main shaft, said chain and sprocket being indicated by the reference characters 22 and 23 respectively, and connected to a source of power, preferably an electric motor herein indicated by 2|. This arrangement provides a means for rotating the interior helix or scroll independently and at a speed equal to or varying from the speed of rotation of the basket. The helix top plate is is flanged up to form a race and so arranged to be guided by the top bearing rollers l i said flanged up portion being indicated by 25.

The helix or scroll rotates within the basket independently and thus provides a means by which said helical flights move the dried material from the bottom and from the walls of the basket upward onto the conveyor hereinafter described, for transportation to the discharge pipe. The electric motors I and 2! are of the variable speed type and by means of tachometers the desired speeds of the basket and helix can be easily obtained. Speeds of said motors can be varied by means of variable speed controls.

Material to be dried by the machine is fed into the machine through an intake or feed pipe 26 from the top of the machine. Said feed pipe 26 extends downward into the machine basket axially thereof and allows the material to be dried to fall on the bottom of the basket from where it is forced by centrifugal force against the basket walls, the water or mother liquor of any sort passing through the basket wall perforations and the solid material remaining in the basket. The scroll picks up the dried material and carries it upward to the top of the basket where it falls onto the conveyor. The aforementioned feed pipe is held stationary and rigid by means of braces 21 which are secured to the top support plate H2.

The top bearings keep the basket and scroll centered and are mounted on the top support plate i2 in such a manner that each bearing is radially offset relative to adjacent bearings on either side so that a radially inwardly oifset set of bearings engage the scroll race and remaining alternate bearings engage the basket race as indicated in Figure 3. A sectional view of said top bearings is shown in Figure 4.

The main bottom bearings 28 in the housing heretofore indicated by 24 in Figure 1 are shown in section in Figure 7 and are of the radial and thrust type and adjustable by a lock nut 29 on the shaft 4.

A water line 38 is provided and is rigidly mounted parallel to the feed pipe and is indicated in Figure 1. Said line is provided for washing the material if deemed necessary.

Attached to and extending downward from the top support plate i2 is an annular flange 3! which forms a trough, one side of which is so cut as not of scraping plates 31 to extend above the basket discharge ports I 4. This trough receives the dried material which is conveyed from the basket by the helix. Inside said trough is provided a means of conveying the dried material discharged to a common discharging pipe 32, and which comprises an independently operated circular frame 33 which is supported by a circumferential series of anti-friction means comprising a plurality of assemblies of three rollers or guide structures shown at 34, 34 and 34' two contacting the side of the said frame and one engaging it from the top. Said roller or guide assemblies are located at four points around the inside of the machine housing or casing as indicated in Figure 3. Said guides are permanently attached to the machine housing by any suitable means. The independently operated frame 33 is actuated by a chain drive mechanism 35 and a motor 36 mounted on the top support plate l2. The circular frame 33 thus rotates in the trough formed by the annular flange 3i and serves as a means of scraping the discharged material in the trough to the opening of discharge pipe 32. This scraping is accomplished by means which are attached to the rotating frame 33 by means of hinges 38 and springs 39 which maintain the said scraping plates in an extended or scraping position. As the scraping plates 31 are rotated on the frame 33 they approach the discharge pipe opening 32 where said plates contact a stop lug 4B which forces the plate backward on the hinge and against the spring tension, and as the frame 33 rotates the scraping plate is snapped back into its extending or scraping position. Such action aids the discharge of material into the discharge pipe and prevents plugging and bridging of solid material in the conveyor trough.

Depending from the top support plate I2 is an annular flanged piece 4! which acts primarily as a means of covering the conveyor trough and prevents material from being pushed out of the trough onto the top of the rotating basket. Said piece is overlapped by the arched top of the rotating frame 33.

Dried material from the centrifugal machine is discharged through the discharge pipe into any suitable type of container and either stored or transported to any desired location.

An outer basket shell or housing 42 is provided which encloses the basket and contains a mother liquor discharge pipe 43 at any conveniently located point on the bottom of said shell. The space between the basket and the shell acts as a receiving space for liquid passing from the basket due to centrifugal force. This annular space between the basket and the shell may be providedwith a partition or be partitioned in such a way as to enable the collection of the mother liquors of varying densities and separate the same if liquids are of sufiicient varying densities to effect a separation, separate drains being provided in each partition.

It is to be understood that alterations and modified arrangement of parts may be accomplished without departing from the spirit of the invention, therefore we do not restrict ourselves to the examples herein specified or the arrangement of parts shown by the annexed drawings.

What is claimed is:

In a continuous centrifugal separator of the type including a helical conveyor, a foraminous basket concentrically disposed about said conveyor, and wherein said basket and conveyor are adapted to be relatively rotated on a common ver tical axis to move material on said conveyor axi ally of said basket, the improvement comprising a separate motor for rotating each of said basket and conveyor, means for varying the speed of each motor, means journaling said basket and conveyor together for individual rotation relative to each other, a stationary frame overlying said conveyor and basket, said conveyor and basket each including upwardly-directed cylindrical flanges concentrically of said axis, said flanges being radially spaced, an annular series of separate bearings depending from said frame between said flanges, alternate bearings being outwardly offset and engaging said flange of said basket while the remaining bearings engage said flange of said conveyor.

JOHN Q. BUQUOI.

JULES J. NOEL, J11.

EARL J. SCHEXNAILDRE.

6 REFERENCES crrEn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

